In-process calibration

of temperature measurement points

Temperature measurements are the most common measurements in the process in-
dustry. In the food/pharma/biotech area not only the production process but also the
steam temperature during sterilisation (SIP) must be measured and documented.

The increased requirements for process safety have led to an ever increasing number
of measurement points in recent years. However, the accuracy of every measurement
must be confirmed by regular calibration. In addition to the resulting costs, another
critical issue is that the temperature sensors must be taken out of the process for
calibration. To ensure that complete process documentation is available without any
gaps, the calibration can only be performed during a production stoppage. In particular
for continuous production processes, this can lead to significant costs when stopping
and restarting production. Here, innovative solutions for lengthening the calibration
intervals are needed.

Temperature measurements with Pt 100 elements have proven to be very robust and
reliable. These sensors are very rarely replaced due to insufficient calibration results.
In addition, the slope of the characteristic curve is largely specified by the production
process. Ageing, for instance due to an increase in contact resistance, typically only
generates an offset of the entire curve.

For temperature measurement points with average or low accuracy requirements, this
opens up the possibility of significantly reducing the costs and in particular downtimes
using a new calibration method and corresponding measurement equipment.

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 In-process calibration
of temperature measurement points

Principle of temperature calibration

For a calibration, the measurement device is compared with a reference sensor with a
known, high level of accuracy.

Sensor Reference
measurement Comparison measurement
value value

Reference sensor
Sensor to be
with known,
calibrated
high level of accuracy

Zone with constant

temperature

Figure 1: Calibration principle for temperature measurement equipment

For the calibration of a temperature measurement device, the challenge is to bring the
sensor element and reference to the exact same temperature. The level of effort to
achieve this depends on the required accuracy. Typically, special calibrators are used.
Either the temperature sensors are removed and measured in the calibration labora-
tory, or the calibration is performed using a mobile calibrator on-site on the production
floor. However, the measurement device must be taken out of the process in this case
as well.

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 In-process calibration
of temperature measurement points

New in-process calibration method

In the new calibration concept described here, the measurement equipment is desig-
ned so that the comparison between measurement device and reference sensor can
be performed in process („in-process calibration“). The certified reference sensor is
inserted into a special calibration opening in the device. The measurement device is
designed so that both temperature sensors are then warmed by the process heat in
the same manner.

This device concept can easily be integrated in a 6 mm standard measurement insert.

For this purpose, an inner tubular casing is integrated in the measurement insert that
receives the reference sensor. The geometry is designed so that when the reference
standard is inserted, both Pt 100 sensors are positioned very close to one another.
Even smaller insert diameters are possible.

Tubular casing of the

measurement device

Guide tube for Pt100 sensor

reference sensor

6 mm

Figure 2: Tip of a measurement insert with additional calibration access

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 In-process calibration
of temperature measurement points

New in-process calibration method

Reference sensor with
miniature Pt100 element

Thermowell

Process
medium

Figure 3 Measurement insert in thermowell with reference sensor inserted

An commercially available Pt 100 sensor with 1.6 mm outside diameter is used as a

reference sensor.

A requirement for this calibration method is a production step with sufficiently constant
process temperature for the comparison time of the sensors. Often, an operating point
is particularly relevant for the process. Its temperature is a good option.

An example is the sterilisation with saturated water vapor (SIP). Temperature measu-
rements for SIP monitoring are often only used for this purpose. Thus, the measure-
ment accuracy is only relevant at the sterilisation temperature. At the same time, the
accuracy requirements are not particularly stringent, as it is only necessary to ensure
that the steam temperature is above the specified threshold.

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 In-process calibration
of temperature measurement points

In-process calibration of pipe surface measurements

Surface temperature measurement devices of the LABOM Clamp-on family have es-
tablished themselves for this measurement procedure as these products are perfectly
suited to the task. These devices can also be enhanced for an in-process calibration. A
second, identical measurement insert is used as the reference standard. Depending on
the available space and measurement application, measurement and reference insert
can be arranged in a number of ways. Here the user can select the optimal design.

The relatively low accuracy requirements for these measurement applications even
allow for in-house calibration of the reference sensor. In particular, calibration inserts
designed specially for calibration of Clamp-on measurement devices can be used in
a dry block calibrator. A standard Clamp-on measurement insert is compared with
a DKD-certified reference sensor. Comprehensive testing has demonstrated the low
error and excellent repeatability of this calibration method for Clamp-on measurement
inserts.

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 In-process calibration
of temperature measurement points

Summary

The required regular calibration of temperature measurement points only rarely disco-
vers unacceptable deviations. The costs for calibration are disproportionate to the as-
sociated benefits. An in-process calibration can reduce the calibration costs for mea-
surements with average or low accuracy requirements and can be performed without
production stoppages. Even if conventional calibrations might not be fully replaceable
by an in-process calibration, at least the intervals for a complete calibration can be
lengthened.

LABOM Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH · P.O. Box 12 62 ∙ 27795 Hude ∙ Germany
· Im Gewerbepark 13 ∙ 27798 Hude ∙ Germany
Tel. +49 4408 804-0 ∙ Fax +49 4408 804-100 ∙ e-mail: info@labom.com ∙ www.labom.com